28 March 2015

Bangkok: DPR Korea started their AFC U-23 Championship 2016 qualifying campaign with a 4-0 win over the Philippines at the Rajamangala Stadium in Thailand on Friday.

Ra Pong-gi’s side led the match 2-0 at the break before two substitutes added two more goals after the interval in the Group G game.

Ri Hyong-jin opened the scoring on 17 minutes before So Kyong-jin doubled the lead with a penalty kick in first-half stoppage time.

Jang Ok-chol, who came off the bench to replace Ho Myong-chol on 57 minutes, made it 3-0 five minutes later.

Pak Hyon-il, substitute for Mun Hyok on 14 minutes, scored the North Koreans’ fourth and final goal on 80 minutes.

DPR Korea will next play Cambodia while the Jim Fraser-led Philippines will take on hosts Thailand on Sunday.

Ten group winners and five best second-placed teams from all groups will join hosts Qatar at the AFC U-23 Championship 2016, with January’s 16-team competition also serving as Asia’s qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games in Rio.

The UAE Olympic national team edged North Korea 2-0 in a friendly at the Kalba Stadium on Wednesday. The match is part of the Whites’ buildup for the upcoming AFC U-23 Cup qualifiers scheduled to be held at the same venue from March 27 to 31.

Mohammed Hussain struck for the home team in the 89th minute and Sultan Saif doubled the score-line in the injury time.

The UAE assistant coach Noruddin Al Abidi said he’s quite satisfied with the good start pointing out that it was a real test against a team of good repute as winners of the silver medal of the recent Asian Games.

“We opted to try all the players who were called for the gathering to assess their true respective forms and to what extent they have absorbed the directives and guidance of their new head coach Dr. Abdulla Misfer.

“It’s great news that the outcome was promising and the result is acceptable for us. But, most importantly, the strong fight spirit stood revealed. The players have definitely benefited from the five-day short training camp and we are confident that they are capable of doing better in the near future and show the best of them,” he added.

“We have enough time to increase the tempo and hopefully we will be able to implement all our way of thinking to fine-tune the squad for the tough mission ahead. There’s too much work to be done and more to come from the boys,” he said.